Improving Treatment Outcomes in People With Alcohol Use Disorder: Machine Learning Models Predict Heavy Drinking Relapse
Research Society on AlcoholismMachine learning techniques can be used to predict treatment outcomes among people with alcohol use disorder (AUD), according to a study reported in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. Patients often return to heavy drinking during and after their treatment for AUD, and may need multiple rounds of treatment before they can achieve long-term abstinence from heavy alcohol use. The predictive models identified in this study could be used to develop clinical systems that allow clinicians and patients to anticipate drinking relapses and adjust treatment before they occur, enhancing clinical care and outcomes. Patient characteristics associated with relapse have been identified previously using traditional statistical techniques, but methodological limitations have made it difficult to leverage these associations to create optimal predictive models. Machine learning – a branch of artificial intelligence involving the use of computer algorithms that can build and automatically imp